Author. 




Boofe_.AMB.SL 



Title 



Imprint 



to— 30899-1 <JP<» 



THE 



DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 



RISING GENERATION: 



AN ADDRESS 



DELIVERED 



BEFORE THE LITERARY SOCIETIES OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE, 



AT THEIR ANNIVERSARY MEETING, JULY 24, 1848, 



BY WILLIAM ALEXANDER DUER, £L.D., 



LATE PRESIDENT OF THE COLLEGE. 



Nosse hsec omnia salus est adolescentulis. — Ter. 



A. J. TOWNSEND, "LITERARY AMERICAN" PRESS,. 



105 NASSAU STREET. 



THE 



DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 



RISING GENERATION: 

AN ADDRESS 

DELIVERED 

BEFORE THE LITERARY SOCIETIES OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE. 

AT THEIR AXNTTERSARr MEETING. JULY 24, I8p 

BA^ WILLIAM ALEXANDER DUER, LL.D.. 

H 

LATE PRESIDENT OF THE COLLEGE. 

Noese hrec omnia salus est adolescentalis. — Ter. 



^ero-flork : 

A. J- TOWNSEND, -LITERARY AMERICAN" PRESS. 

10-5 NASSAU STREET. 

1S4S. 



J>30 *& 






r . 



To William Alexander Duer, LL.D.: 

New York, Oct. 7th, 1848. 
Dear Sir, 

At a meeting of the Peithologian and Philolexian Societies, it was 
resolved that a copy of your instructive Address, delivered hefore them on 
the evening of July 24th, be requested for publication. Deeming the re- 
marks made by you of much practical utility to the student, and knowing 
it to be the general desire of those who were present, the Committee 
hope that you will see fit to comply with this request 

Yours respectfully, 

William E. Armitage, R. M. De Mille, 

E. Bowman Miner, John Lockwood, Jr., 

Cornelius R. Agnew. M. H. Wellman. 



Inglewood, near Morristown, N. J., Oct. 16th, 1848. 

Gentlemen, 

In compliance with the Reso^ation of the Peithologian and Philolexian 
Societies, communicated in your note of the 7th, I have the honor of trans- 
mitting to you, for publication, a copy of the Address delivered before 
them on the 24th of last July ; and beg you to convey to them my ac- 
knowledgments for the flattering distinction implied in their request. 
1 am, gentlemen, yours respectfully, 

W. A. Duer. 

Messrs. R. M. De Mille, and others, 

Committee, &c- 



ADDRESS. 



Gentlemen of the Peithologian and Philolexian Societies : 

When, six years ago, I left these halls, it was with- 
out the expectation or the hope of returning to them, 
— even as a visitor to a former scene of pleasurable 
associations. I thought that the places I had known 
would know me no more, and that never again 
should I behold those fond familiar faces which 
were wont, from those seats, to beam upon me with 
affection and respect. But, thanks to that merciful 
Being who has restored me to health, and renewed, 
as it were, the life he gave, I am enabled once more 
to tread these classic shades, and enter this venerable 
pile ; — once more to address from this place so many 
of those whom I watched over with parental care, 
and whom I still look upon with parental regard. 

Some, indeed, have since departed, — just as they 
were stepping upon the threshold of the world, — 
hastening, it would seem, to join the company of 
those whom they had themselves followed to the 



6 

grave, — and among them, one whom you lamented 
as a brother, whilst I mourned in him — a son.* 
There is consolation, however, for us all ; — and little 
have we profited by the lessons we have heard in 
this chapel, if we have not known where to seek it. 

To leave this indulgence of personal feeling, and 
proceed to the consideration of topics more appro- 
priate to the occasion. 

You are entering, as I have observed, upon the 
career of life, and although some of you may have, 
in a measure, become settled in your positions — yet 
to none, can it be unimportant to reflect upon your 
peculiar duties and responsibilities as members of the 
rising generation. 

You have " fallen" on portentous, if not on " evil 
times." The events that signalized the end of the 
last, and the beginning of the present century — 
wonderful as they were ! — seem but the preludes to 
more stupendous changes. In the political, as well 
as in the religious world, " old things have passed 
away ; — all things are becoming new." Kings have 
been dethroned and banished, — their armies discom- 
fited, — their dynasties extinguished, and the People 
rising in their might, — and with greater force from 
the pressure they have sustained, — are vindicating 
the rights they " derive from Nature and from Na- 

* Edward Alexander Duer, second son o,f the author, who died, after a 
short, but severe illness, on the 15th of December, 1831, in the 17th year 
of his age. He was a youth of much promise, both from his abilities and 
disposition; — a member of the Sophomore class, and of the Peithologian 
Society. He bore his painful sickness with fortitude, and died with per- 
fect resignation. What consolation could be derived from the testimony 
of his fellow- students and class-mates — to his worth — was amply afforded 
by the honors paid by them to his memory. 



ture's God," — too often, alas ! in blood. The spread 
of liberal ideas, and the prevalence of liberal prin- 
ciples in secular institutions is accompanied by the 
infusion of purer sentiments and a more enlightened 
policy in ecclesiastical affairs. Prophecies of Holy 
Writ, hitherto the most obscure, seem to be inter- 
preted by occurrences of the day, and the supremacy 
of the Roman Pontiff, even in spiritual matters, 
begins to be questioned by members of his own com- 
munion, while his temporal jurisdiction has been in- 
vaded, if not abolished, by his, otherwise, devoted 
subjects.* 

The impulse first given on this side of the Atlan- 
tic, after shaking France to her centre, and again sub- 
siding into despotism, is now felt in its rebound, over 
the whole continent of Europe. As the light of 
knowledge has been diffused, the flame of liberty 
has been enkindled ; and though it still may shed a 
genial radiance, yet is there danger lest other sacri- 
fices be consumed on her altars, than the spoils of op- 
pression and intolerance. Let us hope and pray 
that the same Almighty arm that has arrested the 
tyranny and bigotry of Princes, will also stay " the 
madness of the people ;" and that nations, im- 
pelled by the example of our fathers, to assert their 
freedom, may also imitate them in moderation, 

* In the year 1711, the Rev. John Fleming, a Scotch clergyman, pub- 
lished a small work on the Apocalypse, in which he interprets a portion 
of the prophecy to foretell some vast catastrophe in France, at the latter 
part of the eighteenth century, and fixes the downfall of the Papacy in 
the year 1848 ! This work has lately been re-published in England, 
where it is read with great avidity — and has obtained an immense circu- 
lation. 



humanity and justice, and in " decent respect to the 
opinions of mankind." 

Let the issue of these " changes which frighten" 
the older "nations from their propriety," be what 
it may, they have not failed to excite our sympathy, 
and may involve us in their effects. It behooves us 
all, therefore, and particularly you of the rising gene- 
ration, to set bounds to your enthusiasm, and guard 
against latent, as well as impending dangers. Thus far 
your education has tended to regulate the one, and 
prepared you to discern and meet the others. But a 
more direct discipline is essential to security, as well 
from the perils alluded to, as from evils of an op- 
posite character, arising from the re-action of the 
former upon the popular mind. Not only may we 
be misled into speculative attempts at improvement 
by visionary theorists who profane the name of re- 
formers, and whose crude and pestilent theories 
have been productive of such sanguinary results in 
the country of their birth, but we may be betrayed 
into an apathy and indifference fatal to our future 
progress towards that perfection to which we are 
taught to aim ; and from disgust at the absurd doc- 
trines put forth as philosophy, and indignation at 
the abuses perpetrated in the name of liberty, we 
may be driven to seek relief in scepticism, in the 
one case, and in the other, to take refuge in despot- 
ism itself. 

Besides these perils from abroad, there are others 
threatening us at home, and which, consequently, 
are more imminent. A destructive and expensive 



9 

war, — whether necessary or justifiable, I need not 
stop to inquire, — a war, at all events, waged against 
a weaker power, and the only other republic on our 
continent, — commenced by the invasion of its terri- 
tory, — followed up by the occupation of its capital, 
and the subjugation of its people ; and though prose- 
cuted by our Generals and their armies, in a manner 
and spirit which reflect honor on their country, 
while they illustrate their own characters for bravery, 
skill, perseverance, fortitude, and above all, hu- 
manity : — this war, so conducted, has yet terminated 
in a peace at once disgraceful to the vanquished, and 
fraught with disastrous consequences to the victors. 
The very ignominy of the terms we have dictated 
to the Mexicans, must, of itself, prevent a cordial 
and enduring reconciliation with so vindictive and 
sensitive a people ; and this last blow given to their 
national pride, will long rankle in their bosoms, and 
foster there an animosity, neither to be subdued nor 
mitigated by the emollient forced upon them in ex- 
change for their dismembered provinces. 

But their resentment is the least of the evils which 
this war, — or rather this treaty of peace, — threatens 
to entail upon us. Already have they perplexed our 
public councils, and put to hazard our domestic tran- 
quillity ; already is it evident that it will require all the 
patriotism and forbearance inculcated in the parting 
admonitions of Washington, to preserve the integrity 
of our national union. Should the immense domain 
acquired by the treaty be subdivided, and erected into 
as many States, as its dimensions, and the popula- 



10 

tion which it is capable of sustaining, will admit, 
and these States be received as parties to the Fed- 
eral compact, the machinery of the government 
would ere long fall to pieces from its own weight 
and unwieldiness ; and should the " peculiar institu- 
tions of the South" be imposed upon them, the equili- 
brium of the Constitution would be destroyed, its 
spirit violated, and its obligation impaired, if not 
annulled. 

This fearful catastrophe may not happen in my 
day ; but you, my young friends, may live to see it. 
Prepare then to avert or meet it. Watch the signs 
of the times, and be ever ready to defend the bul- 
warks and the soil of freedom. Arm yourselves as 
soon as the laws permit with all the privileges of a 
citizen, and never omit to exercise your elective 
franchise in favor of such candidates as, in your con- 
science, you believe most fit and worthy to be 
trusted with the preservation of your rights, and the 
protection of your interests ; but never let party- 
spirit, party-discipline, or partizan attachments seduce 
or drill you into the support of men for public office, 
of whose personal integrity you are not well assured ; 
for how can he, who is unworthy of your confidence 
in a private station, deserve it in a public trust ? 

While thus exercising the privilege of an elector, 
by no means lose sight of the claims of your fellow- 
citizens upon your services as their representative ; 
and your consequent duty to qualify yourselves for 
usefulness in the Legislature, or in some other De- 
partment of Government. For this purpose the 




11 

Constitutional Jurisprudence of the United States, 
public and international law, the history of foreign 
nations, especially of those of civilized Europe, and a 
more intimate acquaintance with that of your own 
country, are indispensable requisites. 

The foundation of some of these studies has been 
laid within these walls ; but it is for you to extend 
it, and upon this wider basis to erect a super- 
structure of corresponding proportions. It is incum- 
bent, indeed, upon all — even upon those who aspire 
not to political distinction, but confine their ambition 
to literary, or social eminence, — to pursue the gene- 
ral course of studies commenced in this place — after 
they have left it. This, indeed, is more necessary 
for the last, than for the first ; for the mere politician 
may succeed, and too often prospers without them, but 
they are indispensable to the character of a scholar 
and a gentleman ; and I doubt not many of you find 
leisure amid your other avocations to resume and 
enlarge them, impelled only by the commendable 
motives of taste and inclination. 

In thus recommending you to fit yourselves for 
public life, I am anxious not to be misunderstood. Let 
me not be supposed to urge you to the pursuit of 
office by any compromise of principle, the least sacri- 
fice of self-respect, or the practice of any of those 
demoralizing arts that distinguish the demagogue 
from the patriot. Let the popularity you affect be 
like Mansfield's — " that which follows, not that which 
is sought after." The lessons and examples set 
before you here, and at your homes, if not your own 



12 

moral instincts, will, I trust, be sufficient to deter 
you from even more venial efforts for political 
power. Yet the path that leads to it is beset with 
temptations, and the descent from the loftiest sum- 
mit of public virtue to the lowest depths of factious 
degradation, as gradual, as easy, and as difficult to 
retrace, as that trodden by the Trojan exile : 

"Facilis descensus Averni ; 
•' Sed revocare gradum, superasque evadere ad auras, 
" Hie labor, hoe opus est." 

You may find it difficult, if not impossible, — or, if 
possible, not desirable, to avoid attaching yourself to 
some political connection or party. But let it be 
such as is founded upon the agreement of its mem- 
bers in public principles, and in their community of 
sentiment in regard to public policy ; and not upon 
sectional or local interests, or personal prefer- 
ences and attachments. Parties are inseparable from 
free governments ; and co-operation among those who 
concur in opinion upon public affairs, is both natural 
and proper ; for without concert, common views and 
interests, how important soever their success or 
preservation, can seldom be promoted, — nor the 
soundest principles reduced to practice. The 
science of government is eminently a practical one ; 
and its administration should be regulated by practical 
wisdom and experience, in due subordination to the 
immutable principles of right and justice ; and not 
by the delusions of an abstract theory, or the prompt- 
ings of a latitudinarian expediency. 

But though principle should never be yielded to 



13 

expediency, the latter must often, of necessity, be 
consulted in the composition and action of parties, 
and in the direction of public measures ; yet, such 
is the infirmity of human nature, that in politics, 
its sacrifice to the former seems to be deemed 
venial by the most honest party leaders ; and but too 
frequently considered a matter of course by their less 
scrupulous adherents. Should any of you ever be 
driven to choose between them, you will have for- 
gotten the lessons of your youth if you hesitate in your 
preference, or consent to any compromise of principle 
to expediency. You may be subjected to severe and 
painful trials, — you may incur the suspicions of your 
party, — the reproaches of your friends, — you may be 
oppressed by the tyranny of public opinion, and 
overwhelmed with popular odium, but if you ad- 
here to the convictions of duty, and stand firm to 
principle, you will be saved from what is harder 
to be borne than all these, — the reproaches of your 
own conscience. 

If to usefulness and distinction in public life, you 
prefer the calmer and more certain enjoyments of a 
private station, the studies in question will prove 
equally profitable, and may be pursued with greater fa- 
cilities of time and opportunity. They will be a solace 
to you in adversity, — and in prosperity, an ornament 
more brilliant than all other social advantages. They 
will afford, moreover, a solid benefit both to your- 
self and to society — by enabling you to contribute to 
the wholesome vigor of that public opinion, which, 
in this country especially, asserts a dominion more 



14 

searching, if not more potent, than the laws ; and in 
what profession or calling soever your lot may be 
cast, they will furnish you with greater power to 
wield or to control that mighty engine. The divine, 
who is necessarily restricted to his pastoral functions, 
— the lawyer, who eschews politics, and wisely con- 
fines himself to the practice of his profession, — the 
physician, who limits his intercourse to his patients 
and co-practitioners, — the merchant, whose walks 
extend no farther than from his dwelling to his 
counting-house, and thence to the Exchange, — the 
mechanic, whose industry has rendered him intelli- 
gent as well as independent, — and even the man of 
no visible occupation, if he be a man of informa- 
tion, — all these, each in his respective sphere, exert, 
through the medium of public opinion, an influence 
upon public affairs, as efficient, and often more 
beneficial than that exercised by those engaged in 
their administration. It is, therefore, not less im- 
portant that those of you who are to succeed to these 
private occupations, should be as capable of forming 
a sound judgment upon questions of public polity, 
as it is for those of you who may hereafter be in- 
vested with the public authority. 

There is another and a higher knowledge — which, 
though the last to be noticed, should be the first to 
be achieved, for it is of infinitely more value than 
any I have mentioned, and without it no other can 
be worthily pursued, or turned to lasting account. 
I mean, as you will have readily conceived, " The 
wisdom that is from above." This College, indeed, 



15 

was not intended, nor does it profess, directly to im- 
part instruction in religion. It is, nevertheless, a reli- 
gious institution : the place we stand in is dedicated 
to the worship of Almighty God : — His word is read 
to you, and prayers are offered up in it daily to the 
throne of His mercy and grace. It is true, these 
prayers are directed to be drawn from the scriptural 
liturgy of the Protestant Episcopal Church — a com- 
pilation from which those denomination of Christians 
that scruple to adopt it, do not the less withhold 
their admiration and approval ; while their ministers 
sometimes avail themselves, in their offices, of parts 
of it. The President of the College, moreover, is 
required to be in communion with that Church. 
These provisions are not contained in the charter of 
the College ; but are held not to be repugnant to it, 
although the Legislature from which the existing 
charter was obtained, is prohibited by the Consti- 
tution of the State from " giving a preference to any 
religious profession." They are simply conditions 
acceded to in consideration of a munificent endow- 
ment from Trinity Church anterior to the renewal of 
the original charter by that now in force, and were, 
doubtless, intended to prevent the government of 
the College from passing exclusively into the hands 
of any other communion — leaving it, as before, open 
to them all. 

Yet it is from this that the College is not merely 
regarded as the religious institution, which it is, but 
that it suffers under the imputation of sectarianism, 
and is subjected to the disadvantages resulting from 



16 



character which it does not deserve — with- 
out meeting, in return, a compensation in the 
exclusive patronage of Episcopalians. With what 
justice the charge in question has been made, you 
are able to judge. You know that no religious 
test was required of you, that none is required of 
the Trustees or Professors ;-*— that the government 
of the College is participated in by Christians 
of various professions, and that reverend pastors 
of different denominations are among the most 
active and useful of its Trustees.* The majority 
of the Board, indeed, are Episcopalians; but this 
has arisen from the equitable policy of filling vacan- 
cies from the alumni of the institution — a majority 
of whom are of that communion — and not from any 
settled purpose of excluding others. You know, 
too, that the doors of the College are open to all who 
exhibit the requisite testimonials of scholarship and 
moral character — and you know that no attempts at 
proselytism were made upon those of you who are 
Episcopalians or Protestants ; and, as you are Christ- 
ians by birth and baptism, and imbibed, before you 
came here, the rudiments of Christian education from 

* The Rev. Gardiner Spring, D. D. of the Presbyterian Church; the 
Rev. John Knox, D. D. of the Dutch Reformed Church, and the Rev. 
William R. Williams, D. D. of the Baptist Church, are particularly al- 
luded to. 

Among their predecessors, as Trustees, were the following non- 
Episcopalian clergymen : — 

The Rev. John H. Livingston, D. D., The Rev. John Ganoe, A. M. 

" " John Mason, D. D. " " Johann C. Kunze, D. D., 

" " John D. Gross, D. D., " " John McKnight, D.D., 

" " Rabbi Gershom Seixas, " " John N. Abeel, D. D., 

" " John M. Mason, D. D , " " John B. Rom eyn, D. D., 

" « Samuel Miller, D. D., " " James M. Mathews, D.D., 

« « Paschal N. Strong, A. M., " " Wm. D. Snodgrass, D. D. 



17 

the pious teachings and examples of your parents, and 
your pastors, — neither you, your pastors, nor your 
parents, will regret your having joined us in " be- 
seeching the everliving God to inspire continually 
the Universal Church with the spirit of truth, unity, 
and concord, that all who confess his holy name may 
agree in the truth of his holy word, and live in unity 
and Godly love ;" nor in giving thanks to Him that 
we are " very members incorporate in the mystical 
body of his Son which is the blessed company of 
all faithful people." 

Such is the catholic spirit of the religious instruc- 
tion you have here incidentally received. It cannot 
surely offend the most rigid adherent of the strait- 
est Christian sect ; and many conscientious Israel- 
ites have not forborne to attend it. But it should 
not stop here. The seed thus sown has seldom, I 
trust, fallen on a barren soil. Do not let it die ; but 
cherish and cultivate it, — water it from the pure 
streams that flow " fast by the oracles of God," until 
it bring forth fruit in your lives. " They have the 
Book," said the Christian statesman, Jay, when urged, 
in the article of death, for some religious testimonial 
for his children. " They have the Book." I take 
up the parable of the dying saint. — You " have the 
Book ;" and it would be to dishonor the Word be- 
queathed to you firom your Father, " which is in 
Heaven," and a reproach to your earthly instruc- 
tors, as well as to yourselves, not to be able to " give 
a reason for the faith that is in you ;" nor could you 
give a stronger proof of manliness, than not to be 

2 



18 

ashamed to confess it before men, — no baser one of 
moral cowardice, than to " deny the Lord that 
bought you." 

Armed in the panoply of heavenly proof, you may 
fearlessly encounter the perils that beset you in your 
earthly warfare, and finally obtain that inestimable 
reward which the great Captain of your salvation 
has promised to his faithful soldiers. Fighting under 
his banner you will be imbued with his spirit, dis- 
ciplined by his commands, upheld by his example — 
and crowned by him with honor and immortality. 
And while you await this glorious end, you will dis- 
cover that religious faith and conduct are fraught 
as well with temporal as with eternal happiness ; for 
they alone have the promise both of this world, and 
the next. And as you have here been taught that 
religion is the only true sanction of moral obligation, 
so will you find its principles and practice the only 
certain pledges of moral worth and of confidence be- 
tween man and man, — the only safeguard in prosper- 
ity, the only never-failing consolation in adversity. 

Should you inherit or acquire riches, remember they 
will prove a blessing, or a curse, according to the use 
you make of them. " To do good and distribute," is 
the injunction of an inspired moralist ; and the precept 
is enforced both by his reasoning and his authority. If 
possessed of a competency — by which I mean a suffi- 
ciency to secure not merely the comforts, but some, 
even, of the more refined luxuries, and innocent enjoy- 
ments of life — if you can command these, be thankful, 
and neither abuse them to satiety, nor covet super- 



19 

fluities ; but amid the temptations that surround you in 
this mart of pleasure, as well as commerce, ever bear 
in mind that there are nobler objects of pursuit than 
wealth, or its enticements. If destitute of the means of 
independent support,— or rather of living in luxurious 
idleness,— console yourself in the belief that it may not 
be disadvantageous to you to be thrown upon your 
own resources and exertions. In this favoured land, 
no man of ordinary abilities, and industrious habits 
need despair of independence; and such men are 
often more successful in attaining it, than those of 
superior genius, talents, or other adventitious ad- 
vantages. To the humblest individual, equally with 
the most richly gifted, the highest dignities in the 
State, and the most honorable stations in society are 
alike open; and are as frequently obtained by 
the one as the other. Our country abounds with 
instances of men who, as architects of their own 
fortunes, have risen to wealth and distinction by 
their own efforts, assisted only by the integrity of 
their characters, and have been maintained in 
their positions solely by their merits. Among both 
the incumbents of public office, and the candidates 
for it, many such are to be found ; while many in 
the most retired situations of private life, have won 
a more enduring celebrity, by consecrating a por- 
tion of their inheritance or their gains, to public 
and private charities. To say nothing of the nume- 
rous edifices set apart for the worship of the Deity, 
this very College owes its origin to the liberality 
of individuals ; and although it cannot boast of the 



20 

rich endowments which some similar institutions, in 
other States, have received from private citizens, — 
whose examples well merit the imitation of your own 
merchant princes, — yet it owes one of its Professor- 
ships to the bounty of an individual. 

There are, besides, many other eleemosynary 
establishments in your city, and among them, the 
New York, and other hospitals, the Dispensaries of 
medicine, and medical advice, the Asylums for the 
insane, for the blind, for the deaf and dumb, for 
juvenile delinquents, and for the nurture and educa- 
tion of orphans ; these were all founded by private 
persons, are mainly supported by private benevo- 
lence, and watched over by unpaid guardians. 
These burdens — if burdens they may be said to be 
— and these labors of love, you may, in your turn, 
be called on to share, and, I trust, neither the 
means nor the inclination will be wanting. 

A still wider range of useful exertion is open to 
you in the exercise of other social duties, distinct, 
also, from those of a political character. You are 
not only to contribute according to the measure of 
your pecuniary ability and capacity of personal use- 
fulness, to public charities, and be prompt to listen 
to the calls of private distress, but you are to co- 
operate in promoting the laudable objects of associa- 
tions for other beneficial purposes, and especially 
those for the advancement of science, literature, and 
the arts. The cause of education, in particular, pre- 
fers strong claims upon your patriotism, as well 
as your benevolence. It is upon the diffusion of 



21 

sound and wholesome knowledge among the people, 
— knowledge, not merely of their political rights and 
duties, but of their religious and moral obligations — 
that, under Heaven, the duration of the government 
and prosperity of the nation depend ; and while 
instruction in the former is suggested by a wise and 
liberal policy, the inculcation of the latter is enforced 
by the dictates of a conservative forecast, and gen- 
uine philanthropy. To many of you this field offers 
a rich harvest to reward your labor. The education 
you have received has enabled you to communicate 
instruction to others ; and some of you have availed 
yourselves of it for that purpose, and have reaped an 
abundant harvest of honor and profit. 

There are few of you, perhaps, who do not desire 
to visit the scenes described and immortalized by 
the classic authors of antiquity, — to view the produc- 
tions of ancient art, and the seats of empire and ex- 
ploits impressed upon your memories and imagina- 
tions by the records of ancient greatness and re- 
nown : to those, who cannot otherwise obtain this 
indulgence, the confidential and responsible situation 
of private tutor to some more wealthy companion 
will afford the honorable means of enjoying it. And 
even where there is no wish or purpose of foreign 
travel, but the duties of the tutor are to be dis- 
charged at home, the office is, in many cases, 
equally desirable, and in all, equally respectable. 
Nor can there be any more useful or honorable em- 
ployment, — one more deserving of higher rewards, 
or more conducive to respectability and independ- 



22 

ence, than that of the conscientious, accomplished, 
and zealous instructor of youth. To confirm this 
assertion we need not search for examples beyond 
the precincts of this College. 

For furthering general education, and furnishing 
competent instructors for public schools, associations 
have been organized in aid of the laws, which invite 
your co-operation. But among the institutions which 
afford you means of rational enjoyment, it would be 
inexcusable to omit the honorable mention of the 
societies which I have now the pleasure of address- 
ing. Formed within these walls, — composed both 
of graduates and students, and devoted to the culti- 
vation and enlargement of the knowledge acquired 
within them, — they not only tend to greater improve- 
ment, and incite to further and more sustained 
efforts, but form a bond of union among you, conti- 
nuing after your departure from them, and serve to 
cherish and perpetuate that affection for their Alma 
Mater, which is due from grateful sons. 

The prosperity and interests, therefore, of these 
important auxiliaries to the College course, should 
not only be, — as I cannot doubt they are, — dear to 
yourselves, but duly appreciated — as I am warrranted 
in presuming they are — by the Faculty, and fostered 
by the countenance of the Trustees. Should they 
demand proofs of the benefits resulting from your 
Institutions, you may point them to the same record 
to which I refer you, for examples to illustrate the 
advantages of the system of education, so efficient 
in forming the characters, and insuring the perform- 



23 

ances of the duties I have traced, — to the catalogue of 
your College. There, besides many of their own 
names, and those of their fathers,* they will find 

* The following Trustees are graduates of the College : 

Clement C. Moore, A. B., A. M., LL. D., 

Edward W. Laight, A. B., A. M., 

Thomas L. Ogden, A. B ., 

The Rt. Rev. Benjamin T. Onderdonk, A. B., A. M., D. D., 

John L. Lawrence, A. B., 

The Rev. William Berrian, A. M., D. D., 

Ogden Hoffman, A. M., 

Thomas L. Wells, A. M., 

The Rev. William R. Williams, A. B., A. M., D. D., 

William H. Harison, A. B., 

John B. Beck. A. B., A. M., M. D., 

Hamilton Fish, A. B., A. M., 

William Bard, A. B., 

William Betts, A. B., A. M., 

Nathaniel F. Moore, A. B., A. M., LL. D., 

The Rev. Benjamin I. Haight, A. B., A. M., D. D., 

Gerrit G. Van Wagenen, A. B. 

Trustees resigned or deceased, who were graduates of the College : 

Samuel Verplanck, A. B., A. M., deceased, 

The Rt. Rev. Charles Inglis, A. M., hon-caus., dec, 

TheRt. Rev. Samuel Provoost, A. B., A. M., dec, 

Leonard Lispenard, A. B., dec. 

John Watts, A. B., A. M., dec 

Edward Dunscomb, A. B., dec. 

Philip Livingston, A. B., A. M., dec. 

The Rt. Rev. Benjamin Moore, A. B., A. M., D. D., dec. 

Egbert Benson, A. B., A. M., LL. D. 

Gouverneur Morris, A. B., A. M., LL. D., dec. 

De Witt Clinton, A. B., A. M., LL. D.,dec. 

The Rev. John B. Ronieyn, A. B., A. M., dec. 

Robert Troup, A. B., LL. D., dec. 

Peter A. Jay, A. B., A. M., LL. D., dec. 

The Rev. John M. Mason, A. B., A. M., D. D., dec. 

Thomas L. Ogden, A. B., dec 

John T. Irving, A. B., dec. 

David S. Jones, A. B., dec. 

Gulian C. Verplanck, A. B., A. M., LL. D., res. 

The Rev. Paschal N. Strong, A. B., A. M., dec. 

John Watts, A. B., A. M., M. D., dec. 

Samuel Boyd, A. B.,dec 

The Rev. William Creighton, A. B., A. M., D. D., res. 

John Ferguson, A.B., dec. 

Edward R. Jones, A. B., dec. 

The following are the names of Trustees, deceased, who were fathers of 

present Trustees : 

Richard Harison, LL. D., Samuel Bard, M. D., 

William Moore, M. D., Nicholas Fish, 

The Rt. Rev. Benjamin Moore, D. D., John AVells, LL. D. 



24 

many others that have shed lustre, not only on this 
Institution, but upon the highest offices of Church 
and State, the most conspicuous stations in the 
learned professions, the most honorable military 
commands, the various departments of science and 
literature, the most respectable positions in the mer- 
cantile world, or that have gained distinction for 
their virtues in the private walks of life. There 
will they find the reverend names of Bloomer, Pro- 
voost, Wilkins, Vardill, Moore, Bowden, Bassett, 
Mason, Linn, and Romeyn, among divines, — among 
Statesmen and Jurists, the eminent ones of Jay, 
Harison, Benson, Livingston, Morris, Troup, Van 
Schaack and Clinton ; and among the learned Phy- 
sicians, those of Bard, Clossy, Jones, Middleton, Kis- 
sam, Nicoll, Hosack, Borrowe, and Watts; those of 
the gallant soldiers, Van Cortlandt, Ritzema, Rut- 
gers, Van Schaack, Dunscomb, and Willett ; of the 
eminent merchants, Reade, Verplanck, Bayard, 
Marston, Beekman, Ludlow, Hoffman, Laight, and 
Knox; and among the men of scientific genius, 
and mechanical inventions, the name of Stevens, 

Members of the Faculty, who are graduates of the College : 

Nathaniel F. Moore, LL. D., President. 

The Rev. John McVickar, D. D., Professor of Moral Philosophy, &c, 
and the Belles Lettres. 

Chas. Anthon, LL. D., Professor of the Greek and Latin Languages, &c. 

James Renwick, LL. D., Professor of Natural and Experimental Philo- 
sophy and Chemistry. 

Former members of the Faculty who were graduates : 

The Rt. Rev. Benjamin Moore, LL. D., Professor of Rhetoric and Logic, 
and afterwards President of the College. 

Samuel Bard, M. D., Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy. 

The Rev. John Bowden, D. D., Professor of Moral Philosophy, Belles Let- 
tres, and Logic. 

Henry Vethake, A.M., Lecturer in Mathematics and Geography. 

Henry J. Anderson, M. D., Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy. 



25 

of itself a sufficient boast. To this illustrious list, 
the names of Hamilton and of Randolph might 
have been added, had not the love of country of the 
one exceeded his love of learning, and the other 
been arrested in his course by that morbid gloom 
which overshadowed the remainder of his career, 
and dimmed its brilliancy. 

These have all, long since, been gathered to their 
fathers ; — their names are embalmed in the memory 
of their posterity, or inscribed upon the tablet of 
History. There are others more recently deceased, 
who in their lives acquired an honorable fame, and 
in their deaths were deeply honored by their cotem- 
poraries — a second Jay, an Ogden, and a Jones. 
All of the same profession, and pursuing the same 
walks in it — preferring its more retired and confi- 
dential, to its more prominent and litigious paths : — 
the intercourse and sympathies of business drew 
closer between them the ties of personal friendship. 
They were more than able lawyers, — they were 
Christian gentlemen, and scholars ; and in their lives 
and deaths exemplified those characters. They were 
not only among the most meritorious of the Alumni 
of this College, but among the most useful and active 
of its Trustees; and the counsel and support I received 
from them in its superintendence, vividly excited 
my gratitude, encouraged me in difficulty, bright- 
ened the chain of mutual friendship that had existed 
between us from early youth, and justify, whilst 
they prompt this passing tribute to their memory.* 

* Peter A. Jay, Thomas L. Ogden, and David S. Jones, Esquires. 



26 

These among the dead. Among the living, too, are 
many — and some are present — whose names illumi- 
nate your College-roll, to whom their Alma Mater 
might point like the Roman matron, and exclaim, 
" hcec ornamenta mea." These examples, in addition 
to the precepts of your education, are sufficient to in- 
cite you to the faithful discharge of the duties I have 
enumerated. They invite you, moreover, to emula- 
tion in the performance of those incident to your 
private and domestic relations, — as sons and bro- 
thers now, as husbands and fathers, if not now, 
hereafter. Filial piety is second only to piety to 
God ; and I should as soon suspect you of infidelity 
in religion, as of wilful disobedience, or intentional 
irreverence to your parents. From former personal 
observation of your deportment to those who here 
stood in the place of parents to you, I can entertain 
no such suspicion ; nor from the fraternal spirit that 
seemed to animate your intercourse with each other, 
as fellow-students, can I doubt that under your own 
roofs, and at your own firesides, you had " tasted 
how sweet it is for brethren to dwell together in 
unity." 

There is another, and yet dearer relation, into 
which some of you may have already entered, and 
the rest may be presumed to contemplate. It is the 
tie that binds, not only individuals and families, but 
society itself, together, and upon which their very 
existence depends. The faithful performance of the 
duties springing from this union is essential to the 
happiness of all involved in it ; and should it be blest 



27 

to you with pledges of that happiness, and you have 
yourselves performed your duties as sons and bro- 
thers, you may surely expect, and rightfully com- 
mand obedience from your children, and look, with 
greater confidence, for love and harmony among 
them. If they witness, at the homes of their youth, 
conjugal affection and parental solicitude, you may 
more certainly assure yourselves that the examples 
will not be lost on them in homes of their own ; 
your instructions, thus fortified, will " drop " upon 
their tender minds " like the gentle rain from Hea- 
ven, which blesseth both him that giveth and him 
that taketh." 

Thus have I presented you with a rapid sketch of 
your duties and responsibilities as members of the 
generation advancing upon the stage of life. It re- 
mains with you to fill up the outlines, by acting well 
the parts assigned to you. You will perceive that 
your duties, and consequently your responsibilities, 
increase with your years ; and remember, " to whom 
much is given, from him much will be required." 
I have endeavored to enforce the performance of 
these duties, by appealing to the purest motives, 
awaking the most generous impulses, and pointing 
you to the noblest examples ; and I have referred 
you for aid to that power whence alone your own 
efforts can be rendered effectual. Thus armed and 
assisted, you may regard without dread the convul- 
sions of nations, the overthrow of empires, and the 
downfall of thrones ; you may even witness the 
gangrene and decay of your own political institu- 



28 

lions, the disruption of the union, the horrors of a 
civil or a servile war, and the iron hand of the des- 
potism that follows, — without terror or dismay. You 
will resist, with firmness, the temptations of pros- 
perity, and bear with fortitude the pressure of adver- 
sity, — sustained by superhuman strength, and cheered 
by the consciousness of having done your duty to 
yourselves, your families, your country, and your 
bod. 



July 24th, 1848. 



